Last Updated: October 1, 2012

Last year, Microsoft added more than 500 features to its mobile operating system as part of the Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” update. When the company officially unveiled the update near the end of May 2011, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer proudly touted Mango’s 500 features. But with no further details available, we decided to take on the job of maintaining a list of every publicly announced feature in the update. “The Great Windows Phone Mango Feature List” quickly became one of the most popular features in the history of our site. With details about Windows Phone 8 “Apollo” beginning to surface, we decided it was time to do it again.

As with last year, we have broken down the list into four categories: new, confirmed, rumored, and debunked. New features are just that, brand new. This category includes never-before-seen features direct from Microsoft. Rumored features, on the other hand, are unconfirmed. They run the gamut from reliable to wild speculation. Confirmed features were previously rumored, but later confirmed by the software giant. Debunked features, finally, started off as rumors and were eventually proven false.

The main problem with coming up with such a list is deciding what constitutes a feature. At MIX 11, for example, Microsoft announced that the Mango update included over 1,500 new APIs. Obviously, each new API can’t be counted as a feature. If they were, Ballmer’s figure would have been at least four times larger. So what does count as a “feature?” We decided to count fairly obvious changes and improvements, rather than every single tiny detail. This means Local Scout is counted as a single feature, rather than a collection of sub-features like nearby locations, favorites, etc. We did, however, count bigger things like indoor maps. Each visual change shouldn’t count as a feature, so they are combined into groups for each hub. Finally, when it came to developer features like the aforementioned APIs, only the major ones were counted.

So, without further ado, here is the list of features included in Windows Phone 8, codenamed “Apollo.” Each feature contains a link to the most recent information on the subject. We tried to make the list as comprehensive as possible, but there’s always a possibility that we left something out. If you notice something missing, feel free to leave a comment below.

New

1. Redesigned Start screen
2. Multitasking enhancements
3. In-app payments
4. 50 languages
5. 180 countries
6. Early access program for updates
7. Wireless over-the-air updates
8. DirectX and Direct3D gaming libraries (and physics engines like Havok)

Confirmed

1. App backwards-compatibility
2. Shared Windows 8 core
3. Multi-core processor support (up to 64 cores)
4. Support for removable microSD card storage
5. NFC
6. Wallet (including deals)
7. Internet Explorer 10 Mobile
8. Nokia Maps with 3D navigation
9. Three screen resolutions
10. Native code support for apps
11. VOIP integration (including Skype)
12. BitLocker device encryption
13. UEFI secure Boot
14. Remote management
15. Company Hub and apps (including Private distribution of Windows Phone apps for businesses)
16. Improved voice integration with third-party apps
17. Improved camera experience (including Camera Extras apps)
18. Xbox LIVE Games app
19. Screenshots
20. Auto-upload full resolution photos to SkyDrive (off, good quality via data, best quality via WiFi)
21. Customize the address bar button (favorites, stop/refresh, tabs)
22. Updated notification count on live tiles
23. Find on page in IE

Rumored

1. App-to-app communication
2. Data Sense (formerly Data Smart)
3. Deep integration with Windows 8 and Xbox “vNext”
4. Deeper SkyDrive integration
5. Local Scout with personal recommendations
6. Proxy server for faster web browsing
7. Find nearby WiFi hotspots with Local Scout
8. Sensor fusion
9. Shared experience between Microsoft’s entertainment offerings (Windows, Windows Phone, Zune, and Xbox)
10. Support for Exchange ActiveSync
11. Global search
12. Navigate phone storage using SkyDrive
13. Bing integration into the Marketplace
14. Office 2013 apps
15. 3D map landmarks
16. New map views
17. Auto-launcher file associations
18. App-to-app/device Bluetooth communication
19. Auto-upload for photo apps
20. Lock screen notifications for apps
21. Lock screen wallpaper changer for apps
22. Phone backup (app list + settings, text messages, and photos + videos, and IE favorites)
23. Picture transfer from phone to SD card
24. Show nearby WiFi hotspots on the map
25. SMS/MMS delivery confirmation
26. Show downloaded email attachments in the Office Hub
27. Together pivot in the People Hub for Groups
28. 20 accent colors
29. Choose lock screen wallpaper from a photo or Bing
30. Multiple text-to-speech voices
31. File picker / Win32 API access
32. Rotate and crop photos
33. Multi-select for certain file types (like photos)
34. Windows 8′s suite of emoticons
35. Block browser cookies from specific websites and apps
36. Eight apps for fast app switching, rather than five
37. Email dictation
38. Image cycling on live tiles
39. Bing Local Deals
40. Bing News
41. Bing Top Videos
42. Local Events
43. Search from the lock screen
44. Personalized suggestions
45. Custom audio alerts
46. Windows Store branding
47. Live tiles for groups in the People Hub
48. Kid’s Corner
49. Companion app on Windows 8
50. Rooms
51. Type ahead for keyboard
52. Dark email theme
53. Search Windows Phone Store by developer name
54. Opened email attachments section in Office
55. Option to always enable Battery Saver
56. Detailed storage distribution
57. Auto-upload videos (off, good quality via WiFi, and best quality via WiFi)
58. Enable/disable SMS/MMS delivery confirmation
59. Change text size
60. Screen magnifier and high contrast
61. Caller ID announcement
62. Manually check for phone updates
63. Auto-download updates
64. Company app accounts
65. Enable/disable game notifications and sync game requests
66. Send Do Not Track request to websites
67. Allow websites to store files on my phone
68. Download maps for offline usage
69. Xbox Music cloud collection
70. Auto-upload photos/videos to apps
71. Wallet PIN
72. Multiple text-to-speech voices
73. Improved APN settings
74. Downloadable text suggestions
75. Share directly from the app list
76. Disappearing playback controls on the lock screen

Debunked

1. TBD

As with last year, we consider this to be a living document. We’ll be updating this list as more features are revealed, confirmed, rumored, and debunked. With Windows Phone 8 promising to be a fairly major update, it will be interesting to see how large this list will become by the time it is released. For more news on Apollo, check out the rest of our coverage.